Cursed Regardless
by wrsatm
Summary: I wrote this in response to "Curse of the Blood Moon", and this is just my guess at how these characters would deal with what happened after they've had enough time to regret it.
1. Chapter 1

Cursed Regardless

Passing Globgore had stopped frightening Marco or giving him night terrors, at least not after he'd watched queen Eclipsa tend to him for so long. He found it sweet after a while and considered how he might do the same thing in similar circumstances. Although such attachments still remained a mystery to him in many respects, he found that they weren't completely alien either. He'd left his life on earth after all, but noticing a hole in his memory, wanted to revisit a particular moment of the blood moon ball. He knew however, that it was futile. Sighing while passing Globgore's door, he looked up at Star; as haggard as he was after saving a new squire from the lint catcher, and said Good night. "I'll just check on something."

She waved back, somehow regaining her usual vigour. "Good night."

While Star went off, he returned to the door, knocking while sticking his head in. "Hi." He saw Eclipsa on a scaffolding brushing Globgore's teeth, and after she nodded him in, entered. "I just wanted to see if there was something I could do."

"No no, it's quite alright." She looked over her shoulder at him with an odd smirk. "Should I ask how things are between you and Star?"

"Oh." Despite knowing she would see through him, he was taken aback at how quickly she'd managed it. "Great! It's like there was never a problem to begin with."

With a concerned look, she paused for a moment. "That's lovely."

Marco questioned if he should've gone to Star first, but wondered if she started to regret using the severing stone yet or if talking her might cause it to happen earlier than it would otherwise have. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but." She put brush away and began to come down from her scaffolding. "I'm not sure if I should-"

Marco scratched the back of his neck. "Well-"

Now standing in front of him, Eclipsa had a pensive look on her face. "I don't mean to be-"

"We used a severing stone?" Seeing a flash of horror in her eyes followed by a feigned smile; a clear attempt to hide her disappointment, Marco cringed. He knew then that he aught to have gone to Star or no-one at all, save perhaps Tom's great grandfather. "I shouldn't- It's getting late."

Eclipsa sighed. "Let me pour you some tea."

**. . .**

Star picked up her diary for the first time since leaving Earth. She'd planned on writing down some new spells, but on seeing her old diary she was gripped by a sudden joy. Taking it in hand, she fell on her bed while flipping through old entries. She wondered if she only understood them because she remembered everything as she read, and seeing her entries on mewberty and Oskar, could guess at why several past kings and queens struck certain years from their own diaries. Then she read about the blood moon ball, finding a hole in her memory. It left her in a malaise to know a moment like that was gone forever. What's more, she'd chosen to cut it away.

With a sigh, she snapped her diary shut and tossed it to one side of her bed. Sitting up, she looked at her mirror and considered calling Tom. While she knew this would drive him mad, he was still her boy friend and she thought if nothing else, that he should at least find out from her rather than hearing about it through some happen-stance. At that, she found some guilt left from kissing Marco and not saying a thing to Tom, which surprised her. It also left her hopeful that he would take this relatively well. After some hesitation, she got up and walked to her mirror. "Call Tom." In the few seconds of waiting, she concluded that this was daft.

"Hey Star." Tom answered with a cheery voice, but after a moment he looked altogether more worried, as though spotting a wound she hadn't noticed. "Is something wrong?"

"Hey." Scratching her head, she looked for a place to start; uncertain if she should ease him in with some small talk or just get it over and done with, but with a sigh she noticed the silence which threatened to make things even more difficult. "I think I have to talk to you about something- It's not about us, but," Trailing off, she wondered how not to drive him mad.

"Come on." Despite smiling, he still looked concerned and somewhat afraid. "You can tell me."

She smiled at him, somehow comforted by his visible and strained effort. Resolving to get it over and done with, she hoped for the best. "I'm thinking about the severing stone."

"Wow." His eyes went blanc, and he turned pale. Breathing heavily with one hand rested on the wall, he began incoherent ramblings that switched between admissions of guilt and swallowing questions of 'why.' "Star, I don't-"

"Come on, you're my boyfriend." Feigning a smile, she was thankful he took this relatively well. "I want to come to you about these things." Watching the blue return to his face and his breathing go back to normal, she still saw the guilt in his face, only now it seemed like it over more than the severing stone.

Sighing in relief, Tom scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that, I just didn't think that would- and now I can't stop thinking about grandpa Relicor, but." Sighing he put on hand on his head. "Ok! Talk to me." Again. He put on a smile.

Despite the obvious strain of his smile, it still proved a comfort to her and it gave her full confidence to speak. "Thank you... I don't know where to start. It's not that I have feelings for Marco-" Pondering this for a moment, she began to doubt herself. "-but it's like I've lost the spell book all over again, only now it just affects me which makes it easier? I guess?" Seeing Tom crouch a little, she questioned if she was putting too much on him at once. "Do you know what I mean?" Now she doubted telling him was as daft as she'd thought.

"I'm sorry." Still crouched slightly, he seemed bitter with himself, only himself. "I wish I knew what to say."

Sighing, Star wondered if she should go to Marco,or perhaps take up Demon; something so she could relate to someone over this.

**. . .**

"I'm sorry Marco, I wish I knew what to say." Eclipsa put her cup on the table she'd conjured.

Suddenly any comfort from telling someone about this disappeared, while Marco sat slumped in front of his now cold tea. He didn't blame her for not knowing what to say, but after explaining the entire ordeal in fits, starts and sudden out pourings that may or may not have been as coherent as he remembered, he found himself hoping for something more. Turning to Globgore, he began to watch the remaining soap bubbles drip down from in front of his teeth.

"If it helps at all," With an uncertain look on her face, she breathed a melancholy sigh. "I've had to give up my attempts to free him."

While that did distract from his own feelings, it still left him similarly depressed. He did however, find some odd reassurance in having his misery directed at someone else's situation. "You'll probably get to one of these days." Standing up, he finally noticed how tired he was from his second round in the lint catcher. "But, thanks for listening to me. I think I needed it."

**. . .**

Regardless of the clear guilt on his face, Tom kept encouraging her to talk about it. Despite wishing he could relate in the same way Marco could, or his great grandfather for that matter, Star wanted to thank him.

"Maybe you should talk to Marco about this?"

"Tom?" Backing up slightly, she knew she'd put too much on him. "Are you alright?"

"Come on." With a hesitant smile, he shrugged. "I trust you. And besides, I don't think you'd rather to talk to grandpa Relicor."

Scoffing, she admitted that he was right. "Yeah, I guess... thank you." She saw his face light up as if she'd mentioned being cursed with him instead, and found joy in causing that. After trading good byes for a moment, they hung up.

**. . .**

While walking toward breakfast; still in his pyjamas, Marco pondered going to Star about the severing stone. Despite feeling somewhat lighter after talking with queen Eclipsa, he still wished she'd known what to say. Beginning to feel ungrateful however, he wanted to stop thinking. While scratching one eye, he resolved to see if he still felt the same way after eating, but knowing it was a simple excuse, failed to silence his thoughts.

He looked up at the walls knowing what he wanted to do, and wishing he wanted something else. Considering Star hasn't shown any regret, he hoped to avoid spreading it like some virus. And when passing Star, they both gave a simultaneous "mornin'."

This drew an inexplicable laugh from both of them while Marco held back a joke about the curse still binding them. Looking around, he looked for something else to talk about; something easier to laugh at. After a moment he wondered if he should start drinking coffee, if only to have an excuse for this sort of situation.

She shrugged, seeming a little hesitant. "I've been thinking about the severing stone."

Failing to hold back a snigger, Marco found a surprising relief to know she'd already caught this regret. "Sorry. Sorry, but it's like we're still connected" Hearing that joke slip out of his mouth, he had a moment of guilt immediately turned into one of joy when she snorted at it.

"Tell me about it!" While grinning, she gestured as though she'd found something wonderful.

"Why did we even-" Stopping himself, he sighed and reminded himself that was going too far, but seeing a more serious expression on Star's face, he knew it was already too late for that.

"I tried telling tom about this." She had a hesitant smile.

Cringing, he found himself unable to guess at Tom's reaction. "How did he take it?"

"He's fine. It's just he didn't know what to say." She shrugged, now smiling less hesitantly. "Even suggested talking to you."

Marco wanted to curse. He'd thought his feelings for Star had gone with the curse. Now with jealousy spiking through him however, he wanted to take a jack-hammer to the severing stone.

"Marco?" She stopped for a moment, giving him a worried look. "Are-"

"Oh. No, it was almost the same thing with Eclipsa." Remembering why they'd used _that thing_ to begin with, he sighed and questioned if he could ask it to sever itself.

Star put on a smirk, but still looked worried. "Maybe we could use a year and learn Demon in Hekapu's dimension?"

"Ha! Yeah. Why not." She knew. That much was obvious. "Then we can all sit together and make everyone feel guilty for laughing at our jokes-" He would've said more if not fore how loudly Star began to laugh. Laughing along with her, he quickly recognized this from when they were both on Earth.

Star suddenly had a mischievous grin. "You know diplomatically, we might be able to get away with that."

"You're serious?" Despite enjoying himself, he considered learning Demon for more than simply joking purposes, and in his reverie let the conversation go silent. Now he wanted to curse at himself but when he looked up at Star, he found her with an awkward smile. He recognized it from before they'd used the severing stone, and decided to use a joke he'd made to himself only moments earlier. It seemed like an agreement to not act on any mutual feelings but despite that, they were still the only people they could relate to over the severing stone, even excluding Relicor.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

His grandpa Relicor had always given him free reign to read anything in his study, so long as he put the books down before getting angry with any of them. Despite always appreciating this arrangement however, and no longer needing the later stipulation, Tom questioned why he retreated here again after Star's call. Running his finger over some random volumes, he neglected to read their titles and wondered if he should find a way to restore her and Marco's memory somehow. While guilt still weighed on him for causing this mess to begin with however, he didn't feel it quite as sharply as he once did. He simply wanted to do this for Star as well as for Marco.

Of course after a few moments, the sheer number of books in grandpa Relicor's study left him intimidated, at a loss for where to begin and walking toward the computer. Once there, he typed 'memory restoration,' seeing innumerable entries loading on the monitor and decided to narrow his results somewhat. He now added 'after severing stone' to the search bar, and saw only one entry left on screen. It was from one of grandpa Relicor's journals, and Tom could guess with some certainty at what it would tell him. Knowing his great grandfather still couldn't remember what he'd cut away, Tom decided not to read that entry. He didn't want to imagine grandpa Relicor realizing how permanent his actions were.

He still spent the afternoon in the study, picking up random books, reading chapters here and there, and hoping he would find what he wanted by chance. It was what he'd always done in the study, only now he actually knew what he wanted to stumble across. And while skimming over a chapter on the art of possession, he heard his mirror wring. Taking a compact from his pocket, he saw Star's name and answered. "Hey." Seeing her with a wide mischievous grin and Marco in the background however, left him slightly worried. "What's that smile for?"

"Well." She looked off to one side. "We were hoping you could take us to the severing stone again." Her grin became somewhat manic, and Marco joined her with a similar expression.

"Right," Trailing off, he knew he would have to involve grandpa Relicor. "Why?"

She made her smile look more innocent. "We want it to sever itself."

"Umhm." Biting down, he worried this might make her an awkward dinner topic again. Though his mother had forgiven her, Tom still felt she was on thin ice with his family, and her work with queen Eclipsa did little to help that. It caused his aunt Exasperella to question her mental stability. "I don't know- How?"

"Can't we just ask?" Marco chimed in with an almost snide voice and a smile that while familiar, simply didn't fit him. It seemed more angry than exited.

"Wait." Tom noticed that anger in both of them. "Let me check if someone already tried that."

**. . .**

Watching Tom over Star's shoulder, Marco imagined the severing stone breaking apart with a satisfying crunch. he and Star had laughed about it as a hypothetical, and almost cried before they'd both retreated to her room. After that, they'd openly cursed at how useless the severing stone had been to them, finding themselves still sharing feelings for each other and both missing something precious. Before calling Tom though, he'd expected to be angry with himself for choosing to use the thing to begin with, but at least this way he and Star could enjoy themselves. Not only that, they could keep someone else from making the same mistake.

"Yeah." Tom turned his mirror to the computer screen, showing a page written in Mewni. "It says that only makes more severing st-"

"What!" They both shouted, Marco hearing the same rage in Star's voice that he'd tried not to show, and seeing the same despair and disappointment on her face that he found creeping through his own anger.

"Guys?" turning his mirror from the screen, Tom feigned a smile to hide his cringing. "Should I come over? I don't know if I can help that much but," While he trailed off, the concern in his voice made it clear he wasn't talking about destroying the severing stone. "I could ask grandpa Relicor to come with, if you're both alright with that?" While he looked down, there was something bitter about his expression and manner; a familiar hesitance.

Star began to grimace. Sighing, she shrugged at Marco; a signal that this might hurt, and smiled for Tom. "Why do you look so guilty?"

Despite a twinge of jealousy, he knew Tom needed this. Finding himself certain he'd make plans with Kelly later on, Marco backed away.

"We wanted to use that thing." After self deprecating scoff, Star breathed another sigh, sharing a bitter expression with Marco.

Finding himself amused at how the severing stone bound them, Marco walked closer to the mirror. For a moment he saw Tom with a worried look before it was replaced with another timid smile hiding a cringe. Wondering if it was because he and Star still shared the same expression, Marco found a slight bit of guilt. It seemed like a cherry to top a swirling, emotional mess in his stomach.

"Should I come over?" Tom shrugged.

Sighing, Star gave a tired grin. "Sure."

**. . .**

While sitting in the elevator to Mewni with his grandpa Relicor, Tom listened to a grumbling lecture on never going to magical artefacts over emotional issues, and struggled with certain cases in Demon; the ones only used in religious texts and millennia old charters. His great grandfather may have even been there to write some of those things, or at least Tom supposed so from how naturally grandpa Relicor used them. All the same, he knew his grandpa lectured himself as much as him, and let the man vent. This was, at least until Relicor showing some reluctance, brought up his own marriage and Tom's aunt Exasperella.

"No! Grandpa, don't go there." Tom knew what was coming; the question of his future marriage and his family's history with the institution. Rolling his eyes and sighing, he recalled one thing that could always halt this discussion while drawing a sort of whimpering laugh from whoever heard it. Regardless of the whimpering however, it would be a laugh all the same. "If worse comes to worse, I can always marry my work-"

Grandpa Relicor screeched. _"You'll find some one nice like your mother did." _Then crossing his arms, he began to ruminate.

For one reason or another, Tom couldn't help smiling at this. Despite any comfort though, he still looked out the window to wash the thought of marriage from his mind. If he lingered on it for too long, he suspected he would have hire that life coach again.


End file.
